Sitting Down with Ivan Cornejo at Austin City Limits 2023

On October 15, 2023, during the Austin City Limits music festival, Ivan Cornejo gave a vulnerable performance on the Miller Lite Stage.

With his emotional ridden vocals, and heartbreak filled lyrics, Cornejo represents the new generation of Regional Mexica Music. As he sing love ballads with his guitar, his fan admire how he wears his heart on his sleeve.

On the Day Three of ACL Weekend Two, Coog Radio had the honor of conducting a interview with Ivan Cornejo before his 5:15 performance. Below is the transcript of a discussion about Cornejo touring experience, newest single, and thoughts on his collaboration with other Latino artist.

Sorraya: Hello everyone my name is Sorraya Gonzales from Coog Radio. Thank you so much for joining me. Today we have platinum recording artist and Latino billboard award winner Ivan Cornejo. So let’s get started! So, how long have you been in Austin for?

Ivan: I have been in Austin for I wanna say like three, four, like five hours.

Sorraya: How have those five hours been?

Ivan: I woke up like around 2 hours ago. So good morning.

Sorraya: Are you enjoying your stay here so far? 

Ivan: Yes, of course! Austin is pretty fun. 

Sorraya: So you are getting ready to perform at 5:15 at the Miller Stage. Do you have any before the show rituals or routines that you do? 

Ivan: I think I just try to relax as much as I can. I feel like if I’m rushing around too much my heart is just gonna be racing the whole time. 

Sorraya: So you don’t wanna make yourself nervous?

Ivan: Yeah, like it’s just another day.

Sorraya: You just released a new song called “Donde Estas” which translates to “Where are you”. What drove inspiration for that song? 

Ivan: I think I just wanted to write a song about searching. Being in search of that girl you lost. Or like if you lost you know someone. Just that feeling you get of wanting to go out and chase them.

Sorraya: You did a collaboration with Becky G. Releasing a single called “2ndo chance.” How did it feel to work with her? 

Ivan: She is really sweet and a very talented singer. I think the song was a great song. 

Sorraya: Was it exciting when you heard about doing a collaboration with her?

Ivan: Definitely, because it caught me by surprise that she wanted to work. I heard the song when we were in the studio and I knew I had to hop on that song. 

Sorraya: Nice. So you won a Latino billboard music award for “Debut Artist of The Year” and “Regional Mexican Album.” How did it feel to receive an award at such a young age?

Ivan: Laughs. That also definitely caught me by surprise. I think I just was doing what I love. I am very grateful for it. Thankful for my fans!

Sorraya: You had a tour start earlier this year? How has it been so far?

Ivan: It’s been super fun, super stressful, and super tiring but overall just exciting because it is what I love. Learning about new cities and exploring the cities. I brought my friend as my staff  so I’m just having a great time. It does not feel like work. It feels more like doing what I love, just friends and music. 

Sorraya: Wow. That sounds so cool just hanging out with your friends and playing some music. So you play a very intimate genre where it is just you and your guitar and you learn to play at a very young age. What inspired you to pick up the guitar? 

Ivan: I was seven years old when I first picked up the guitar. I think I was so interested in the guitar and started learning songs and eventually it just became a passion. 

Sorraya: Did your parents help you out with guitar lessons or did you just teach yourself? 

Ivan: My mom actually put me in violin classes. Yeah I was like 12 years old learning the violin for three, four years. Then I was gonna go into guitar classes but  I just decided to do YouTube. 

Sorraya: Your tour is called the Terapia Tour (therapy tour). What inspire ydou to name it that? 

Ivan: I think my fans are the very big reason why I named it that. I would see a lot of comments saying things like “oh this song is therapy for me” or “this music is therapy for me.” It almost made me feel like a therapist. 

Sorraya: I know Spotify tells you the name of a certain playlist with your music in them. Have you seen any interesting playlist names?

Ivan: Yeah, I have seen sad sierreno or sad boy hours. 

Sorraya: yeah just a lot of sad boy hours just a lot of people in their feels

Ivan: yeah my feels 

Sorraya: Are you in your feels a lot?

Ivan: Sometimes, yeah. 

Sorraya: Sometimes when you are feeling low does that inspire you to write a song? 

Ivan:  I would say so yeah definitely. I just feel like picking up the guitar helps a lot with stress and a lot of things are just a distraction. 

Sorraya: Wow, that’s nice. Anyway that’s everything for todays show, thank you so much for joining us. 

Ivan: Thank you. 

It was a pleasant experience getting to know Ivan Cornejo and the inspiration toward his music. His personality and gratitude radiate tremendously on and off stage. Along with his newest release, “Donde Estas,” Cornejo will be a powerhouse in the sad sierreno genre. With such an unforgettable stage demeanor, definitly check out his Terapia Tour along with tracks such as “Aqui Te Espero” and “HASTA LA MUERTE.”